Mon 10 Apr 2006
When it comes to younger wine (less than 10 years old), my preference is clear: I’d rather have a smaller, lower profile wine, that is actually drinkable, than a corpulent “Grand Vin”, however good it maybe, before it reaches peak maturity. In general, the better the wine, the longer it has to be laid down before opening, and it’s just a shame to drink a wine that is not ready. If you’ve ever had a 25 year old “1er Cru Classe”, you’ll never want to go back to drinking them young again. Now, on that note, let’s go on to this 1996 French wine.
This wine comes from the Sainte-Foy-Bordeaux region, and is a good example of a wine that reaches its peak at about 10 years. Its composition is 80% old merlot and 20% cabernet franc. It’s definitely not a “Grand Vin” of the Bordeaux region, but one that is perfect for drinking right about now.
The bouquet on this one was of ripe dark berries (currants or black raspberries), with a good dose of wood and some tar. On the palate the wine was perfect: it had a good body and very, very smooth tannins, the mark of a mature wine. The notes of dark berries and wood surface quickly and finish with a dose of herbs; a great little wine for a predominantly woody cigar.
June 5th, 2006 at 9:29 am
Agree. I was fortunate enough to try a bottle of this very good Bordeaux with dinner while on my trip to Paris back in 2004. The vintage was 2000 and it was delicious.
Would love to be able to purchase a case of this wine in the States. Know of any distributors? Thanks
June 6th, 2006 at 2:00 pm
Boy I wish I knew. I picked it up at my local grocery shop. They have an ample wine section and at times have umbelievable deals. I have picked up bottles of 20 year old grand crus for 35 dollars. Of course, we also have two local wine cellars. They have a lot of choices, but with them you don’t always get the deals.
Good luck trying to find this!